Fronti Nulla Fides
by super dorothy
Summary: Al, Rose and Scorpius are off to Hogwarts. All trying to make an impact other than that of their surname. Confusion, stress, elder siblings and crushes and of course school, however, stand in their way. Ever so slight hinting of AS/S in later chapters.
1. Anticipation

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was, to put it ever so eloquently, shitting himself.

His father and mother had just abandoned him, leaving in favour of a quick visit to an old school friend. He had a suspicious feeling that his dear mother had left a rather smudged mauve lip stick stain on one of his cheeks, and self consciously wiped at the offending mark with a velvet sleeve. He felt a sudden rush of adrenalin, and quickly glanced round to see if anyone had been watching him. At the mansion he wouldn't have dared to get such a mark on his clothing, but it was almost thrilling to look down and see a messy mark on his once perfect sleeves.

This had almost distracted him from the hustle and bustle, from the prospect of boarding that scarlet train, and almost, just almost, from the slightly odd look the Potter man was giving him from across the platform. He caught his eye, only by sheer accident, and then ducked and blushed.

The engine emitted a startling sound, almost like the blow of a horn, and a smog like cloud of steam, obscuring the Potter's from Scorpius' view. The crowd's began to make their way forward and Scorpius, though a little disheartened at having to leave, grasped the handle of his trunk and moved forward. The case was heavy than he had initially assumed, and Scorpius had to fight his way through the bustling crowd. He spotted the Potter and Weasley kids with their parents and what seemed like trunks at least twice the size of Scorpius'. Scorpius himself reached the nearest train door, lifting and forcefully shoving his trunk into the one of the trains many corridors. He followed it up the step, then set out down the corridor at a faster pace than his feet seemed to want to take him at.

It didn't take him too long to discover a blissfully empty compartment. After attempting, and failing, to heave his suitcase into the large netted luggage holder above, Scorpius pushed it angrily under the bench and slumped into the seat, sighing heavily.

- - -

Al Potter and Rose Weasley waved good bye to their parents, then made their own way down the narrow wooden clad corridor of the trains last compartment. Rose sniffed behind Al, and he grasped her spare hand, giving it a friendly squeeze.

The last compartment was empty, though Al doubted somehow that it would stay so much longer. He led Rose in and through her sniffles and tears she managed to levitate their trunks up into the compartment's nets. She smiled over at Al, who returned it with what was almost a grimace.

"Well, here we go then," She stuttered, then giggled through the tears that threatened to roll, "Hogwart's."

Al lent across his seat and lay a slender hand on his cousin's shoulder, "Indeed."

"Excited?"

"Yeah," Al lied through the nerves and butterflies, "Anyway, we've got Victoire, Dominqiue and Louis. And Uncl- I mean _Professor_ Longbottom," He sighed, "And even James, if that's any comfort."

Her brown eyes caught his startling green ones, and she asked, "Where've your nerve's gone, Al?"

He gulped, but grinned to hide it, "Well, I figured there's no point in worrying. It has to happen sometime doesn't it? Better get it over and done with."

She sniffled again, but smiled, "God, when did you become so calm and collected?"

He shrugged, then lent back into his seat for a better view of the London outskirts, "I didn't; it's a brilliant facade," he added as a looming grey concrete tower block rolled by the train.

- - -

Scorpius was pretending to be asleep. Fast asleep, with the obligatory cheap paperback to enhance the illusion. He had a sneaking suspicion that the print might rub off on his face, and he would be forever more branded with a few paragraphs of _Wuthering Heights_. But all in all it was better than being forced to talk to a bunch of Fifth Year Hufflepuff's about hair and beauty.

He was starting to almost wish that he had opted for Beauxbatons; the French countryside now seemed so much more appealing than being stuck in Scotland with bunch of people that most likely hated him, just on the principal of his surname.

"Malfinda said she's_dating_ Danny Wood!" One of the girls squealed, and Scorpius saw a swift movement of a perfectly manicured hand. It reminded him of his mother, and of her vanity.

Another girl spoke up, though it was more her complete disregard for Wizarding clothing that interested Scorpius, "I thought he was _gay_!" She squealed, stamping a foot clad in some sort of blue pumps, complete with a rather over large bow stuck to where Scorpius could only assume her toes were. They clashed awfully with her neon pink tights, Scorpius thought. His mother would never approve if she knew her son was in such company now.

"So did I!" Another girl whispered, though quite loudly, "Wasn't his dad gay? Y'know, _the_ famous Oliver Wood."

"Everyone thought so; my mum was in tears when she heard the rumors," The first girl took a sharp intake of breath, "But then he went and got Lena McDonald _pregnant_, didn't he? She couldn't play international Quidditch for over a _year_, poor woman."

"Then why's Danny got Wood's surname? They didn't get _married, _did they?" Said an unbelieving voice.

"Well," The girl leaned in closer, and Scorpius could tell it was her best attempt at being secretive, "_I_ heard they divorced, but Lena didn't tell the press. I reckon she always had a thing for Wood, but was _happy_ to take the 5000 Galleons payment."

"_5000 Galleons_?"

"Yeah!" The first girl whispered, though Scorpius could've sworn she _wanted_ to be heard from the corridor.

- - -

They journey was shorter than Al and Rose had initially predicted, and soon enough there was the call of Prefect's voices and the rapping of many knuckles on doors throughout the corridor. Al saw Rose shiver out of the corner of his eye as she and Maggie Finnegan prized their trunks out of the nets. The cousins had known Maggie practically since birth; they went to the same nursery and infant school together, before all were withdrawn by their parents after a small incident involving a classroom fire.

"This is so_exciting_!" Maggie squealed, one hand on her trunk as she pulled it out of the train and onto Hogsmeade platform.

"Oh!" Rose gasped.

The castle loomed in the distance, partially obscured by the mist and fog of the evening. The first years stood still, almost transfixed by this beautiful, magical building, perched on the mountainside. They could have stood on the spot much, much longer if it weren't for the fact that six other years were bustling about the platform, pushing their way through the crowd's.

"First years!" The commanding voice of a Fifth Year Prefect shouted over the crowd of bobbing heads, "Leave your bags here, someone will take them for you. This way now, follow me! First Year's this way!" Her voice was carried by the wind, but the gaggle of eleven year old's managed to catch onto her words. She guided them with the wave of a hand over to where, to Al at least, looked like the edge of a darkened, glistening lake. He gulped; a fear of deep water didn't quite seem ideal at this point. As they made their way forwards, he felt one of Rose's soft hands clutch his, and she gave it a squeeze.

A fleet of small, battered looking rowing boats greeted them at the lake's edge, bobbing up and down quite gently considering the force of the weather. The lake itself was another matter entirely, the crest's of waves spraying sea white foam wherever they crashed.

Al gulped nervously. The boats seemed to be idyllically floating on the water, not a drop getting in or out. All the same it looked daunting, from the start to the part where it appeared to just disappear into a rather large crack in the rocks, like some sort of claustrophobic cave.

"Four First Years to a boat!" The Prefect commanded again, prompting them to grab a seat, "And . . . forward!"

Al had just hooked his second leg over the boat's side when it started to move forward with a sudden jolt. The gaggle of First Years exclaimed their excitement with gasps and a flurry of windswept heads looking around. They looked for the absent commander of this fleet of boats, and when they found none, giggles and chatter broke out about magic and the occasional anecdote of what had happened in their parents and grandparents time at Hogwarts.

- - -

Scorpius Malfoy had known it would be something like this; his father had always told him not to fall in so as to disgrace the family name. The only thing Scorpius was concerned about was his hair, and the way it seemed to be increasingly messed up as the fleet of boats gild across the darkened water. He had accidentally boarded a boat with a set of silent, glaring twins and a somewhat avid rower, who kept on at Scorpius about "wind power" and weather conditions. Scorpius himself nodded along politely, attempting to come across as a halfway decent person. Luckily no one mentioned his name, and he made it across the lake un-touched and, for the time being, un-hated.

- - -

**Author's Notes - My my, it's probably littered with mistakes and that. Things I should have now got a grip on after five years on this site! I'm one of those people who's switched just for the heck of it; this is a nice, new fresh start. **

**Anyway, reviews are loved and cherished! Honest; I'll reply and everything! Feel free to burn me for spelling errors and that. I'm a Brit, so pants to trousers, erasers to rubbers and what not. (If I'm correct, doesn't rubber mean something **_**entirely**_** different in the ol' USA?)**

**Thanks, Rose.**


	2. Sorting

The lake trip had left them shivering in the evening's darkness, their thin school uniform holding very little body warmth in. The same female Prefect that had guided them to the lake came running up to their crowd, flanked on either side by two slightly taller figures who Albus could only assume were other Prefect's.

"First Year's this way; Professor Longbottom will meet you in the Entrance Hall," She called over their heads, beckoning them to move forwards. As they did the chatter broke out once again, after having subsided on the boat trip. The female Prefect sighed, flipped a strand of flaxen hair out of her eyes and moved forward, the group behind her followed suite steadily.

Albus only had a couple of seconds to gaze in sheer wonder at the magnificent size of the wooden front doors before a thunderous concoction of clicking and sliding allowed it to open. The inside was even more impressive; the sheer size of the Hall within the doors was enough to silence the crowd. A flurry of heads followed as a ghost passed through the walls, then disappeared with a brief wave in the the sweeping staircase to their left. A few of their number gasped with shock, hands covering mouths.

"Welcome, First Years!" A booming voice called across the Hall, "Welcome to Hogwarts castle. The Sorting Ceremony will commence shortly, so I'll give you a couple of minutes to neaten yourselves up. All in uniform, I hope?" The man said it kindly, however, with one eyebrow cocked, then he clapped his hands once again, grinned at them, and exited back into the next set of doors.

The chatter broke out once again, while people attempted to flatten their hair and tuck shirts in.

"I know Professor Longbottom!" One squat, chubby 11 year old announced to the group around him, "He lives above the Leaky Cauldron in the holidays!"

This brought about a round of appreciative nods and loose jaws. Evidently living above a world famous pub made you, in an 11 year old's opinion, infinitely cooler than residing in a gigantic magical castle in the mountains.

- - -

Scorpius was at the back of this rather noisy crowd, carefully keeping himself to himself. The velvet sleeves were just visible under the cuffs of his fresh new Hogwart's robes. As with all the other First Years his clothes carried no House emblem, unlike the older Years with their House colours proudly on display. He fingered the collar of his robe lightly, wondering what shades he would like to see there. The obvious Slytherin emerald would be ideal, but personally Scorpius felt blue would bring out his eyes. He didn't like the way the dark robes made his skin would even paler; for one brief second he cursed his heritage and their habit of inbreeding.

"First Year's this way!" A different voice called across the crowd. A simultaneous gulp and the following sighs rung through the Entrance Hall like bell tolls. The crowd began to form an orderly line, attempting to organize themselves into some sort of alphabetical order. Scorpius took up his place near the middle, flanked either side by a Morgan and the Potter kid. Al stood behind Scorpius, his reddy brown hair flicking off in different directions, one mud stained shoe making conspicuous marks on the tiles. Scorpius smirked to himself, brushing any possible dust and germs off his beautifully impeccable robes.

They filed in carefully and quietly, walking through the now silent crowd at the four House tables in the Main Hall. Faces from every direction followed them, until the line stopped abruptly about five meters from a short, battered wooden stall. A tall, aristocratic looking man came over and placed an even worse looking hat on the stall, it's hemming frayed and dirty. The man stood next to it, unrolling a piece of parchment carefully, his eye's scanning gradually down until -

"Anderson, Marcus!"

A gangly pale boy half jogged the five meter distance, sitting down on the stall and pulling the hat down his face as far as he could possibly manage. He appeared to be trying to hide his face from the crowd, but only had it on for about twenty seconds before the ragged hat announced, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

The pale boy jogged it over to the Gryffindor table amid cheers and applause from his new House. Scorpius spied out of the corner of his eye the House Prefect clapping him on the back as he joined next to someone who he guessed must have been a sibling of some sort.

It was a while before there were any announcements that made the crowd show any great interest until the tall man read off the list the name - "Dursley, Michelle."

Al stood, gaping at the announcer as a small blond girl teetered over to the stool, pulling the hat quickly as it to hide embarrassment. The crowd around the Hall was up in arms, muttering things about "Potter" and "Wizard hating Muggles". They didn't quieten down until the tall man shushed them with a frantic wave of his hands, the parchment clasped tightly between his fingers.

The hat seemed to take an agonizing age until it suddenly proclaimed - "GRYFFINDOR!" and Michelle Dursley hurried off to her respective table amid a spattering of applause and slight confusion.

Al stood behind Scorpius, nervously hopping from one foot onto the other. The line was depleting fast; soon it was only a couple of people before Scorpius, and then, Al thought with a gulp, him. He wasn't thinking straight as he moved forward with the rest of the line. It didn't make sense - how could a Dursley have been magical? His dad rarely discussed them, but he knew for certain the his uncle didn't possess an ounce of magical powers. Unless his aunt . . . ? But while he was thinking the line had moved forwards, and he had to stumble quickly behind Scorpius Malfoy, who Al could've sworn sniggered ever so slightly.

Mendelin, Randall had just become the Slytherin tables newest occupant and then - "Malfoy, Scorpius!"

The tables went quiet, but Al could hear clearly the outbreak of whispers going on. Scorpius stepped up bravely to the stool, taking the frayed garment in both bony hands and placing it on his head.

"Another Malfoy, hm?" Scorpius heard in his ear, then, upon realizing the hat was talking to him, nodded, "Normally I would just place you in Slytherin, no doubt it would do some good for your family pride. But no, you're something different. Your mother's mother was a Hufflepuff then? Very interesting."

"Not Slytherin, please," Scorpius thought to himself, urging the hat not to make some snap decision based on surname alone, "Not Slytherin!"

"Very interesting, very interesting," The hat muttered in his ear, "You've got the brains, definitely got the ability. You could do great things for any house, no doubt."

"Not Slytherin," Scorpius chanted as some sort of motto, "Not Slytherin!"

"Really? Well then, better be . . . _RAVENCLAW_!"

Scorpius blanched, removed the hat, and walked over to the Ravenclaw table. There was a semi cheering, mainly from quite a few bemused looking people at the Ravenclaw table. The loud muttering broke out again, and the crowd barely had time to recover from this shock when the aristocratic man called out, "Potter, Albus!"

The Hall really did fall fully silent this time round. Only the turning of heads could be heard, each looking at every House table in turn, as if they might be able to tell who this Potter was going to be.

Al almost tripped on his way up, but recovered quickly and planted himself on the stool. The frayed hat hung around his ears, and Al felt it almost move, as if it might be a living being.

"Another Potter, is it? Hm . . . more difficult than your brother and grandfather. You remind me of your father; great potential in any house. Slytherin, maybe?"

"No, not Slytherin," Al told the hat quite firmly, his fingernails gripping the edge of the seat, "Not Slytherin. Anywhere but Slytherin."

"Well . . . I'm not usually one for taking pupils own prejudices into account, but if you're so adamant that Slytherin would be a wrong choice then you better be . . . _RAVENCLAW_!"

Al had no time to dwell over what had just happened, and he ripped the hat off his head and half ran over to the Ravenclaw table amongst the greatest applause of the evening. Al looked around for a seat, and found one with spare space around it.

"A Potter, in Ravenclaw! Who would've thought it, aye?" A kindly Scottish accented voice said in his ear, then a great hand clapped him on the back, "Julius Jaequin, Head Boy. Pleased to meet you, Albus Potter." The Head boy had a handsome, kindly face, and Al accepted the handshake.

After both Resseriti, Susanna and Thompson, Jack had been sorted into Gryffindor the line had become only four. Al glanced over at Rose, hoping to catch her eye. Much to his disappointment her eyes were fixed on the Head Table; the nervousness clear through the constant cracking of her knuckles. Vane, Verity quickly became a Hufflepuff, then Xavier, Zachary became a Slytherin the line left only Rose Weasley some posh looking boy, his shiny leather boots making a slight squeaking sound every time he moved.

Al held his breath as his cousin stepped up to the stool, sat down and shoved the hat over her eyes.

It seemed to take an age before anything happened, and then, after what looked like an argument between Rose Weasley and this inanimate object it announced - "_RAVENCLAW_!"

Al broke into imidiate applause, making space for Rose to come and sit down next to him. She tottered down the aisle between the Raven claw and Slytherin tables, then came and plonked herself down next to Al, her face flushed and excited.

"Sorry about that, it wanted to put me in Gryffindor," Rose looked up at her cousin, "Al, what's the matter?"

"Dursley, Rose, a Dursley," He turned his pallid face to her, "D'you reckon my dad knows about this?"

- - -

**Author's Notes - Lulz! Plot twisterzzz! (Been done a million times, I reckon!) Ahem, anyway, I sincerely apologize. I don't think the spell check picks up errors induced by spilling a mug of steaming tea over your keyboard. Reviews are loved, and even replied to! My biggest thanks to C.D, emuroo and ElleIra42, all quick on the ball. Thank you for the loving reviews!**

**Thanks once again, Rose.**


	3. Dormitory

Al and Rose made their way up to the Ravenclaw Common Room with the flow of fellow new housemates. They were both full and could feel their feet dragging ever so slightly along the flagstone's and occasionally brushing a step on the way up yet another lengthy staircase. The Ravenclaw Common Room was a hike; it felt to the First Years and many of the older Years like going up a mountainside.

After what felt like hours they reached the foot of a tight spiral staircase and gradually organised themselves into a single file shuffle. Al slipped behind Rose and they began the ascent in disorientating circles, winding up and up until they stopped abruptly some fifteen steps from what Al could only see as being an expanse of plain wood. The Head Boy Julius extended one hand and confidently grasped a brass knocker that Al hadn't quite noticed before. The crowd was shuffling and chatting, obscuring much from view and making it impossible to hear anything going on down the front.

The door did, however, let them in after a few seconds, and Rose and Al finished their journey.

- - -

The room inside was darkened but still incredibly beautiful. There was a round of appreciative gasps from the First Years, and polite but ever so slightly smug smiles from the elder students, who merely strolled in and sat themselves down anywhere. Tall, arched windows surrounded the circular circumference of the room, letting in a gentle moonlight from the cloudy skies outside. The Ravenclaw colours were evident all around the room, from silky bronze throws on the sofa to vast rugs of a rich, sky blue. Scorpius sighed in sheer wonder - this was so much better than his father's descriptions of the Slytherin Common Room with it's dank, damp smell and dim emerald glow. This was airy and delightfully spacious; the perfect place for reading and studying, with all it's beautiful marble alcoves and cushions.

He glanced around at his new housemates nervously. He had assumed they might hate him, that he would be a lonely, miserable outcast for the rest of his educational career. But, to be perfectly honest, these people seemed alright. Almost amicable.

The Head Boy was talking again, a slightly smug I'm-older-than-you-and-always-will-be look plastered on his face.

"First Years dormitory is on the left for the boys, and the right for the girls. Your baggage has been taken up and placed at the end of your bed. Please be quite while you're in your dormitory tonight; some of do have classes tomorrow," He smirked slightly, "Anyway, about your classes. They will start on Monday, so you've got tomorrow and the weekend to prepare. Calista will give you your timetables in the morning. Good night!" He smiled, waved, and then turned back to his group of Seventh Year friends, laughing and chatting.

Scorpius deduced that Calista must have been the girl who had been standing next to him all that time, grinning slightly manically and blushing when he mentioned her name. Love, Scorpius concluded, made people mad.

- - -

The First Years began to make their way up to the dormitory just before midnight, when the last embers in the fire stopped glowing. They trudged in unison up their respective staircases, their new dorm being near the top of this steep winding circular staircase. A trail of windows followed them up until their door, indicated by a small plaque saying _"First Years"._ The first boy in front of them pushed it open, then gasped at the site inside.

Al and the other three followed in. Inside was a curved room, a reflection of the tower that housed it. From what the boys could see there were a few large windows, each reaching from ceiling to floor, carefully latticed with thin iron strips. Out from them you could see roof-tops and towers; a portion of the lake and the edge of a darkened forest.Their glance, however, was held by the beds. The deep mahogany four posters were draped in a silky sky blue fabric, hanging in great curtains over the sides. The bedspreads were all a rich bronze, the pillow the same blue as the hangings.

"Wow," Breathed the boy who had entered first, then he ran at his bed a dove into it, wrapping the shimmering bronze around his scrawny shoulders, "It's like something out of Shakespeare, isn't it?" He had a distinct working class London accent, perhaps Pecham or Tottenham.

"Who?" A boy behind Al asked, grinning as he saw his trunk and made a run for his bed too.

"Shakespeare, y'know, famous writer bloke. Big ruff," He boy motioned around his neck, "I'm Nick Jackson, who're you guys?" He said this quite amicably, smiling round at his new housemates. He had tanned skin and a face that would have been handsome if he was only five years older.

"Aled Llywelyn," Replied the boy in the next bed, "It's Welsh, but I grew up in Bristol. I didn't quite latch on to the accent." He had a rounded face, clearly one of a boy stuck in that transition period between childhood and adolescence.

The boy now behind Al stood forward, his short brunette hair sticking up in spikes and clumps, "I'm Provence Macent, please call me Po." He had a posh accent, something hinting at a rich and privileged upbringing.

Al took this opportunity to introduce himself, not aware that there was still someone behind him, "I'm Al, Al Potter," He cringed at the gawking expressions of Aled and Po, and the confused look of Nick, who sat on his bed with one eyebrow cocked at this reaction, "Nice to meet you all, in peace and quiet at least." Aled chuckled at this, and Al felt suddenly relaxed.

"Who are you, then?" Po asked Scorpius, at which Al jumped, not realising the blond boy had been behind him, "I'm Po." He reached a hand out to shake Scorpius', who politely introduced himself.

"Scorpius Malfoy," He said confidently but quietly, as if he had not really wanted to admit this at all, "Pleased to meet you."

Po cocked one eyebrow, looked Scorpius from feet to face, then smiled, "Nice to meet you, Scorpius."

The room was a little silent, with both Aled and Po looking between Al and Scorpius as if they were about to erupt into a massive argument of fight. There was a tension until -

"Scorpius Malfoy, I've certainly heard a lot about you, Al Potter," Scorpius introduced himself, sweeping one bony hand out in front of him, "Mother still playing for the Holyhead Harpie's?"

Perplexed by this polite conversation, Al stammered to answer, "Oh, well, nah, she gave it up when Lily was little. Your father still a big-shot at the ministry."

"Oh yes," Scorpius smirked, drawing back to his bed, "And I gave yours is too, Potter."

Al stood there for a second, watching the other boys start to un-pack their trunks, his hand still out from the handshake. He couldn't quite tell if Malfoy was either being very courteous and polite, or discreetly rude. He didn't have long to dwell on this however before he yawned and felt tiredness overcome him. It took him a few minutes to locate his pyjama's in the now disorganised mess of his trunk before he crawled into his bed and drew the hangings, taking one last glance at Scorpius Malfoy in the bed next to him, making one last glance to work out the blond boy. He gave up, though, and crashed back into his bed, with the "good nights" and "nice to meet yous" reverberating round the room.

- - -

They woke early as the sun rose, having forgotten the night before to draw the curtains. Al stretched his arms in the air, slightly confused at his surroundings. It took him a couple of seconds to realise he was in this circular dormitory in Hogwarts, not at home in Godric's Hollow as he had initially thought. This brightened him up a a bit - the prospect of wandering round the castle for the next few days was exciting.

Slowly the other boys started to stir and get up, yawning and stretching. They all smiled when they caught a glimpse out of one of the lengthy windows. The dawn was beautiful, the sun reflecting in glistening patterns across the lake. Even the forest looked a lot friendlier than it had done in the dead of night, it's coniferous tree tops swaying in a gentle September breeze.

They all got changed in the privacy of their own hangings, attempting to pull on a pair of jeans while lying down was not as easy as it looked.

Once they were done, Nick suggested they went down to the Common Room, wait until breakfast. Po disagreed and threw a well aimed pillow at the Londoner, hitting him square on on the forehead. Nick grinned, grabbing his own pillow and retaliating. Soon Aled and Al had joined the fight, and even Scorpius a little reluctantly was aiming the feather sacks at the other boys. Soon they descended into a mass of hysterical giggling and feathers, all five of them lying out against the walls, catching their breath.

A knock at the door brought their attention back with a jolt. The friendly, handsome face of Julius, the Head Boy they had met last nice, poked round.

"Oh dear, a pillow fight, then?" He grinned at their slightly worried expressions, "_Reparo_." He muttered, and the pillows regained their feathers and became as they were before. Another incantation muttered bought them down to settle at each respective bed, "So, ready for breakfast? I've got you uniforms here, lovely Ravenclaw colours. You won't need them today, but come Monday it's uniform time!" He chuckled as they groaned, "Breakfast starts in half an hour, so meet downstairs in the Common Room with the girls. See you then!" He levitated the piles of uniforms to their assigned beds, then left with a cheery wave and a wink.

"He's just doing that to show off, isn't he?" Nick commented, disgruntled at this boy's apparent talent for magic, "Hope we learn things like that soon."

- - -

**Author's Notes - This was weirdly difficult to write; I'm awful at OC's. With fan fiction I never seem to be able to write great ones. This is why I was drawn to the next generation thing, it's kind of up to me what happens. There's very little of the confines of canon going on.**

**Thanks emuroo for the review! It's always lovely to receive those before school on a weekday morning. **

**Muchos love, Rose.**

**P.S - Sorry if I get details wrong, it's a bad fault in my writing. And the apostrophes. My use of them is dismally bad, I never did quite work it out.**


	4. Friends

The troupe of boys ambled down the winding staircase to the Common Room, too preoccupied with the prospect of breakfast to even notice the beautiful view out of every tiny, arched window.

The girls were already there being given what looked like a pep talk from the Prefect who had escorted them to the castle yesterday. They remembered that she must have been Calista, the blushing blond girl who had been there to meet them yesterday.

"Nice of you to join us!" Julius called across the Common Room, striding forward to usher them to the door. Al swore he heard Nick mutter something inaudible under his breath.

Al quickly jogged over to join Rose, her frizzy ginger hair stuffed into a ponytail. She grinned and embraced him, as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Hey Al!" She greeted him, pulling back, "Isn't this just great? It's _so_ nice, and everyone's really friendly! Did you see the views this morning?" She gushed, "Anyway, this is Posy, Karen, Marseille and Annabella, who are they?" She pointed at the group of boys coming towards her, as if they couldn't see her.

Al counted on his fingers as he looked at the four girls. Posy stood there a little awkwardly, coarse black hair falling just past her shoulders.Karen stood next to her, and waved when she caught Al's eye. She was significantly taller than the rest of them, almost as tall as Scorpius, though a little less elegantly so. Her dark brunette hair was cut into a short bob, a thick fringe half covering her eyes. Annabella smiled at Al in a way that made him a little nervous. She grinned, cocked her head, and flicked a strand of flaxen hair over her back. She was pretty, with light brown eyes and long blond hair, but still had that childish chubby face and slight puppy fat. The last girl, Marseille, grinned over Al's shoulder at the boy behind him, who Al realised was Po. They did some strange handshake, then hugged and stuck their tongues out at each other.

Rose looked perplexed, and Po was quick to say, "My sister, May's my sister."

"Oh." Replied Rose, looking for something better to say, "So do we get introductions?"

- - -

As a group of ten they trailed the path's of the Prefect and Head Boy, who were too deep in conversation to take any notice of the First Year's following them. They trotted through tight corridors, down steep staircases and across the Entrance Hall before finally reaching the gargantuan doors of the Great Hall. The boys and girls split to each side, then rejoined again when they sat down at a big, empty space. Rose placed himself opposite Rose, between Po and Aled. Scorpius sat next to Po, and now were both talking, each with a similar accent. Nick was chatting to Annabella, whose eye's were wide as she acted out various magical accomplishments. Nick nodded along, obviously entranced.

"So, nice night, Al?" Asked Rose as the Hall started to fill. She slipped a couple of hash browns and a slice of toast onto his plate.

"Oh, right, yeah," He replied, slightly dazed and tired.

"The dorm's are amazing aren't they? Much better than my little box room at home; the bed's here have silk hangings!"

"Hmm," Al tried to reply through a mouthful of food, urging his throat to swallow it, "Really nice. So, looking forward to lessons?" He knew this would get Rose talking, and Al himself might get a chance to stuff as much good as he could into his mouth without interruption.

They were just finishing off breakfast when the owls descended. A massive flock of the birds came swooping down, startling many of the First Years. The Second Years looked smug, happy that they weren't the new kids anymore.

Al noticed a great Eagle owl land in front of Scorpius, much to the blond boy's embarrassment. It was a large, showy bird, and kept ruffling it's feathers whenever any other student glanced over or pointed at it. Al reckoned it must have been at least twice the size of his own owl, small and messy in comparison. The Eagle owl held it's left foot forwards for Scorpius to take a letter. Instantly he blanched, going from flushed and flustered pink to a deathly pale.

Al was about to ask what was wrong, but Scorpius excused himself and left the Hall before anyone had a chance to say a word to him.

"Weird," Commented Rose, watching his elegant, lean frame exit, "D'you reckon it's from his dad?"

- - -

Al and Rose left breakfast full and satisfied, not sure that they would need lunch or dinner after all the food. They made their way down to the grounds, pushing through the throng of older students heading to classes. By the time they got down there it was practically empty, save a small group of Fifth Year's on a study leave period. Al stared out on this vast expanse of grass and tree's, the lake catching his eye. It rippled gently in the breeze, it's surface reflecting the sun as it had been doing at dawn.

"Let's go down to that little stream!" Rose called ahead from him, carefully stepping over stones and tree roots. They were aside from the neat, flat grass and on the fray of woodland. This was far from the forest, just a hilly and rough part that Al suspected wasn't much in use. He stumbled over to Rose, who was now bent over a small patch of strangely healthy looking grass at the base of a majestic oak tree.

"Look at this Al!" She squealed, and he edged over, "It's a Nebula Narcissus, they're _native_ to Brazil! And there's one here in Scotland! They're magical flowers, but appear normal to the Muggle eye. Important ingredient in Dragon Pox potions, they reduce the swelling. Look at the healed grass around it."

She grinned up at Al, who returned it and bent down next to her to look at it, despite not having a great interest in plants. The plant itself was a delicate daffodil, not unlike the ones his mum often put in vases around the house. He felt a sudden pang of home sickness. Rose shot a sideways glance at him, her brow furrowed. Al noticed and immediately smiled, placing one finger on the flower's outermost petal. It was warm to the touch, and glowed gently.

He withdrew his hand and turned to Rose, "Don't Muggle's notice that when they go out picking the things?"

"Silly Al, it's magic. It realises the magic in your veins, and warms to a Wizard's touch only."

Al thought he had had perfectly reasonable question. Flower's didn't have feelings or emotions, so why should they be able to sense something about a person?

- - -

Scorpius made his way back up to the Common Room, trailing through the maze of corridors and staircases, past lessons with their open doors. He saw levitated desks and hedgehogs with teapot spouts, but barely noticed.

As soon as he reached the airy, light Common Room he collapsed onto the nearest sofa, staring at the high, ornate ceiling. The letter lay unopened on his chest, one frail looking hand clutching it tightly.

- - -

"We should get to lunch," Said Rose, her head resting on Al's stomach as they both lay in the Autumnal sunshine, "Probably about time, isn't it?"

"Sure thing, Rosie Pose," Al heaved himself up from the dewy ground, his back damp and clammy, "Shall we go?" He helped Rose up, and they began to make their way back over the small distance they had covered, ad back to the Great Hall.

Po, May and Nick were already there, chatting to one another and attempting useless spells with their wands. Nick and May waved at them on their approach, and Po mustered a smile. Rose sat next to May, beckoning Al to join them.

"Where've you been, then?" May asked, loading slices of chicken breast onto her silver plate, "Found anything good?"

Al glanced at Rose, and then replied, "We just went to the grounds, it's nice and sunny outside today. Where did you all go?"

Nick replied this time in his distinctive accent, "Jus' been wandering round here for ages. It's bloody massive, I'm going to get lost if I lose track of you lot!" He looked up at Al from his food, "You seen Scorpius or Aled? We've lost 'em."

"I think Aled went off with Posy and some Gryffindor girl, Maggie or something," Marseille commented, rolling her eyes, "Don't know about Scorpius, but I think Karen and Anna said they saw him in the Common Room. Couldn't be something to do with his father, could it? Heard his choice of House has caused quite a stir with the old Death Eaters."

Rose frowned at her slightly, "How come you know so much?"

"My father's in the Ministry Auror department, with yours and Harry Potter. The Malfoy's are the main discussion, apparently."

Rose's mouth formed a little "o", and she turned to the aisle, where an influx of students were know pouring into the Hall, "Here they come."

Soon they were joined by all asides from Scorpius, but Al put that out of his mind for now and concentrated on the food and discussion. It surprised him somewhat that practically all the Ravenclaw first years, bar Nick and Posy, knew his parents in one way or another.

"Oh yes," Anna said with a smile as she walked alongside Al on their way out, "Your mum was the best Seeker the Harpies every had. She was my idol growing up."

Al wasn't sure what to say to this - a new friend saying they idolised your mum was pretty odd. In certain respects he felt that the Cup winning, glorious Seeker Ginny Weasley was quite different to the down to Earth, loving mum back in Godric's Hollow.

- - -

**Author's Notes - Next chapter will be mainly letters, but I'm attempting to get at least Victoire and Fred Jnr. in, and James if I can manage. There's too many of them! D:**

**Reviews are, as always, loved and loved a bit more. And replied to, whenever I have the chance to get on a fully Internet friendly proper, genuine fully operational computer. At the moment it's just a rubbish old BBC non-Internet computer, a PSP and a library computer. Ughhhhh.**

**Thanks yet again, Rose.**


	5. Letters

_Son,_

_I have been informed of your house placement by a colleague. Whilst both_

_me and your mother are always proud of you, I am sure you will realise the affect_

_this will surely have on my place in the Ministry. To avoid my further embarrasment,_

_I would appreciate it if you dd not go doing anything reckless. I hear the Potter/Weasley_

_children were placed in Ravenclaw alongside you? Well, all I can say is this - be _

_careful who you make friends with; it may just impact on your future in ways you do_

_not cannot currently comprehend._

_Any self respecting Malfoy would have requested that they be placed in _

_Slytherin. Did I not inform you that you can make a choice? While I understand that_

_your mother was indeed a Hufflepuff, she has since shown her worth. At least attempt _

_to do well in your O.W.L's, you'll need that at least._

_Sincerly your father, Draco Malfoy_

_P.S - I hear one of the Zabini twins made Slytherin. _

Scorpius placed the letter down on his chest again, having read it over at least ten times. His father's Ministry job could be threatened by this? A wave of guilt swept over Scorpius yet again, and he rubbed his raw, puffy eyes. He hadn't realised quite how difficult it would be for his father to suffer such disappointment in his only son. Personally Scorpius though Ravenclaw wasn't too bad; he hadn't made Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. He wasn't brash or thick, so the stereotypes went. Ravenclaw's were smart and quick thinking, surely qualities anyone would want in their child?

He sniffed and turned onto his side, one elbow uncomfortably wedged between the sofa and his ribcage, the hand still clutching the letter. The Common Room was still miraculously empty, cut off from the rest of the castle by a steep winding staircase and a couple of slightly useless corridors.

At least it was empty until Scorpius heard someone debating with the door.

"Oh, I don't know!" A girl stomped her foot outside, it'ss ound echoing; reverberating, "War! No, peace." She waited a couple of seconds and then said, "Wait, is it time?"

Scorpius sat bolt upright as soon as he heard the girl's little victory dance on the flagstones.The panel of wood opened up to reveal a tall, red haired haired girl clutching a stack of books, a thin layer of dust covering her black Ravenclaw jumper.

"Oh!" She said when she saw Scorpius, abruptly dropping her bag onto the nearest table with a loud thump, "You not in class, then?"

"First Year," Scorpius replied in a lacklustre tone, stuffing the letter in his trouser pocket.

"Really?" She sounded mildly surprised and raised an eyebrow, "You lot just get older looking every year."

Scorpius smirked, regaining a little energy, "Not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not."

She smiled at him, coming over to join him on the sofa with her pile of books, "You're a witty one. Why aren't you out with the other Firsties dropping stinkbombs and making the most of the detention proof first few days?"

Scorpius heaved a sigh, relaxing back into the sofa and blinking up at the ceiling, "Well, not the type personally. How come you aren't in class?"

"Ah touché," She began to flick through the heaviest looking tome, "I excused myself from History of Magic to come and do my Werewolf essay. It's over two months late. Don't think Binn's even noticed."

"What Year are you?"

"Fifth; our DADA class is way behind. I'm Lucy by the way, nice to meet you." She stuck out a hand to shake his quite formally.

"Oh, Scorpius," He waited to see her face turn, to see her flinch, but she just smiled.

"Nice to meet you Scorpius. Draco Malfoy's son, I assume?"

"Quite," Scorpius sighed, "Let me guess, a member of the Weasley clan?"

She smirked, flicking hair out of her eye's, "You guessed right. Percy Weasley's daughter, so it's nice to be away from the constant tirade of Ministry talk."

"I have to agree on that one. My father's life appears to revolve around the Ministry. It's all rather dull when your parents spend all their time arguing about current affairs."

"Tell me about it," She sighed.

- - -

Rose knew how to get to the library from her intensive reading of _Hogwarts: A History _over the Summer. It was down one winding staircase, across a fiveway room, and down one of Hogwart's busiest and most trodden corridors. She informed Al of this on their way there, hoping that her persistance might just cause him to get the information lodged in the brain. Then she wouldn't have to tell him again when he ended up lost and confused.

"Why are we going to the library anyway, Rose?" Al moaned at his cousin as they turned yet another corner, "You don't _need_ anymore books!"

"Don't you want to see the library?" Rose hissed accusingly, "You just don't appreciate ancient architecture, do you?"

Al was about to mutter something witty and clever, but Rose got there before him. They turned another corner, and into a wide, student filled corridor. Rose looked trumphant, and grabbed Al's swinging hand to drag him through the corridor at a speed. She dodged through crowds of older students, her reddish brown hair trailing behind. Al just followed her wherever, not bothering to try and chnage her mind. Gradually the corwd thinned as they entered classrooms and left the corridor. Soon he and Rose were the only ones there, and it wasn't long before they stumbled into the library. 

Rose let go of his hand and turned to look at her cousin, a smug look spread across her face, "See, told you I knew where it was."

Al let her trail off into the nearest towering aisle of books, not quite noticing. Al stared up at the high ceiling, his eye's straining as he tried to see the stone details at the top. When he brought his attention back to his level he noticed Rose had gone off, leaving him standing at the entrance. Facing him was a wall of bookcases, metres and metres high, so long that he couldn't quite see the end of each. He sighed, then swung his bag round to his back at set off in search of a table.

What Al found was not a table as such, but a small alcove carved into the stone wall. It had a dusty little window, providing views over the other side of the castle. From here he could see Scottish Highlands, stretching and rolling as far as the eye could see. It seemed greyer and dimmer in this view, clouds drifting lazily across the sky. Al settled himself into the lowest icon, back curved and feet huddled up.He fumbled about in his bag for the notebook he always carried round and a biro pen, then got to work writing.

_Dear Dad,_

_You've probably already heard, but me and Rose got sorted into Ravenclaw. I_

_hope you're not upset. At least I didn't get into Slytherin, right?_

_I'm not sure if you know, but didn't you say that your cousin was a Dursley? _

_There's a girl in Gryffindor called something Dursley - could they be the same? It's all very_

_confusing here. Rose and Scorpius Malfoy are in the same house as me. Malfoy seems _

_alright, but don't tell Uncle Ron. Has Rose sent him a letter yet?_

_How's Lily? Hope she's not too upset - remind her that we have to do lessons! _

_I'm looking forward to Monday. We've got Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against _

_The Dark Arts. I hope I'm good at them, everyone keeps telling me how amazing you were_

_at DADA. _

_Anyway, I better go. I can see Rose coming over with an armful of books._

_Love you, mum and Lily,_

_Albus_

He managed to stuff the scrappy lined paper into his bag before Rose fully reached him. He looked up at her, trying to appear inconspicuous.

"Do you really need those, Rose?" He cocked an eyebrow at the pile of dusty volumes she placed at his side, and scanned one of the covers, "_Charms for Children_? Rose, I'm sure you can already do _all_ of those."

Rose tried to hide her blush, and stammered, "Well, it's good to be ahead. You never know what they might want us to do!"

Al rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you've already got the whole curriculum scrawled somewhere."

- - -

Dinner came in early evening, and was almost as magnificent as the first feast. Al sat down at the table, staring at the silver platters of food and snacks. A plate of glistening and crackling chicken drumsticks lay in front of him, still steaming as if they just been cooked.

Al was taring, his face inches away, until Rose sat down in front of him, clapping her hands in front of his eyes.

"Just take some, Al," She sighed, pushing a drumstick so it tumbled onto her cousin's plate, "You'll breath germs all over perfectly edible food."

Al was about to retort, but he saw Scorpius walking down the aisle behind her, accompanied by a girl. She turned to look at them when Scorpius went to sit down next to Rose and Aled, and Al instantly recognised her as his cousin, Lucy.

"Albus!" She squealed, throwing herself down on Rose's other side, "You've grown so much! Look at you!"

He blushed, embarrased at this public display. She was, in many respects, far too similar to her mum, Aunt Jacqueline. She had the same features; small nose, large green eyes, pouty lips. But the flaming Weasley hair indentified her family heritage immedietly.

"Rosie!" She threw her arms round the smaller girl, as if she hadn't noticed her before, "Look how pretty you're getting; you've got your mother's eyes." She said fondly, and Rose scowled and blushed.

Al piped in, half out of interest and half to save his favourite cousin, "Luce, do you know a Dursley family?"

"As in _the_ Dursley family? You should be doing that in History of Magic. They disappeared in the middle of the War, vanished off the face of the Earth. It was a big issue for the Ministry later on - turned out they had covered the whole thing up. Didn't do too well though, seeing as some Wizard-Muggle alliance committee got wind of it and insisted that they have their memories restored. It was quite a debate - the whole Ministry seemed to be involved. Eventually they were restored, just in time for Dudley Dursley to realise he was married to a witch. He hadn't quite picked up the signs before, but obviously noticed them afterwards. Word says he could stick it, and left. Only thing was that she just so happened to be pregnant with his child already." Lucy took a forkful of shepherd's pie, and raised her eyebrows at her younger cousins, "Not much has been heard of them since. Guess the magical gene's carried on, aye?"

Al stared at her, adn then at Rose. This remarkable calm was slightly unnerving, and Al found himself taking large mouthfull's of food to combat this awkward silence.

Rose was first to finish, pushing her plate towards the middle of the table and standing to leave. Al, Scorpius and Lucy turned to look inquisitively at her, considering she had just deided to leave in the middle of a conversation about Transfiguration.

"I've got to go look something up," She added quickly, swining her bag over a shjoulder, "I'll see you all later."

The other three shrugged, then turned back to their pudding, switching the discussion to Quidditch.

- - -

**Author's Notes - This chapter looked pretty long before, but it's not, is it? Ah well. I've got this super-mega-ultra Philosophy coursework to do plus the fact doctor's are still trying to find a reason for my headaches, so the next chapter might be quite a few days. Next chapter will most certainly include the Weasley-Delacour gang, and I'll attempt to get more of this Michelle Dursley thing in there to. **

**I'm thinking I'll still go for the AS/S, unless anyone has any objections. I just dislike the idea of Rose or Lily with Scorpius so much, and think Al and him would be much better.**

**As always, reviews are absolutely adored.**

**Ta, Rose.**


	6. Morning

"Rosie!"

Rose turned to behind her, the voice clearly having come out of the pack of elder female students. Before she could quite think it over, a pair of lengthy arms had grabbed her and were now rocking her from side to side, a sharp female voice squealing in her ear.

"Rosie! God, I haven't seen you in _ages_! Well done for making Ravenclaw; make sure you go talk to Louis sometime."

"Victoire, you're choking me," Rose muttered in a strained voice, attempting to force her cousin's arms off her, "Get off!"

Victoire pulled back, one eyebrow cocked at the younger girl, "Tut tut, Rosie, you're not taking great care of your skin now, are you? It's all dry and cracked." She touched one cheek with a perfectly manicured finger, "I know a brilliant potion that could solve that!"

"Yeah, because that's my main worry at the moment," Rose muttered under he breath, "Anyway, didn't you see me at the station?" She asked, slightly puzzled.

Victoire released the grip she had had on Rose' shoulders and replied, in a rather embarrassed stifled voice, "Well, I was saying good-bye to Teddy."

Rose snorted, rolling her eyes at Victoire, "You're all over each other constantly, aren't you?"

"It's love," Stated Victoire, blushing and drawing away from her cousin and back to the gaggle of Seventh Year girls, "See ya later Rosie!" She waved and winked, and then was gone with a swish of perfect, curly auburn hair. It was like Rose's, but only with added Veela genes.

Rose muttered something under her breath, then started her journey down the corridor, hoping not to have the misfortune of meeting any more of her relatives. That, Rose concluded, would be difficult considering the Weasley family had a bad habit of breeding like rabbits.

- - -

The rest of the First Year Ravenclaws were gathered round a coffee table, staring at a small, squashed chocolate cake in the centre. Po reached out a finger to poke it before his sister slapped his hand sharply.

"It could be dangerous!" She squeaked, then stood up, "I propose we leave it. Why not go exploring? Haven't been down to the Quidditch pitch yet."

The other nine looked up at her, scowled, but rose and started to collect their stuff all the same. Scorpius abandoned his slightly grubby velvet jacket in favour of his new Hogwart's robes, the sleeves ever so slightly too long. The others started to move toward the door, and Scorpius attempted to catch up, resulting in one of his feet getting caught on a rug edge. He tripped straight into Al's back, who stumbled forwards.

Al turned round, and Scorpius flinched away. The darker haired boy looked a little perplexed, but rested a hand on Scorpius' shoulder to steady him, "Hurry up, it's starting to get cold outside."

Scorpius cocked an eyebrow a couple of seconds too late, looking quizzically at the back of Al Potter's Hogwart's robes.

- - -

The Quidditch pitch was almost empty except for the Ravenclaw's and what looked to them like half of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. The air was cool and misty, patches of dull fog obscuring the goal hoops. A couple of slightly older students were on brooms, dipping and ducking their way round the oblong pitch throwing a battered Quaffle back and forth, laughing and joking.

Al glanced up into the fog, noticing the gangly boy on an old school broom.

"James!" He called up, "James!"

The older boy turned on his broom, airborne for a second, then swooped down to stand next to his brother, flushed and smug looking.

"Hey kiddo," He grinned and ruffled Al's hair.

"I'm 11, James," Al retorted, slapping his brother's hand away.

"Chill, Al, chill."

"Stop talking like you're in some Muggle show."

"Someone's tetchy, _Albus_."

"Piss of, _James_."

Al suddenly became aware of the stares they were receiving, and how close in proximity he and his brother had come. He blushed, then ducked away and bit his lip nervously.

"We having a domestic here?" One of James' Quidditch friends asked, "Oh, this your little brother, Jamie?" The tall, dark boy ruffled Al's hair and bent down to his level, "He's a little Harry Potter replica, isn't he?"

The other boy came over, a short, tubby blond haired Third Year, "Damn, he'd be a good Seeker. Shame he's a Ravenclaw, aye?"

Al scowled at the boy, then stomped away from the pitch, catching fleck's of sand in his shoes as he went. The other Ravenclaws looked at his retreating back, amused. They let him go, choosing instead to take up the opportunity of borrowing the Gryffindor's school brooms. The policy of House Unity did come in handy sometimes.

- - -

Rose was already at the Ravenclaw table on Monday morning, her new timetable balanced on a toast rack. The other Ravenclaws sat around her helping themselves to food and drinks. Rose sat in silence with her brow furrowed, tracing with delicate fingers the columns. The other First Years has mostly neglected their timetables after a brief glance at them.

"Potions," She stated abruptly, "Every Monday we get Potions first."

The others groaned, especially the boys. Al frowned at his cousin from across the table, "God, really? What a brilliant start to Monday mornings."

Po opened his mouth to agree, but was interrupted by an influx of of owls, each swooping down to their respective owner. An owl that the First Year Ravenclaws could only guess to be a Ministry owl swooped down to Scorpius, a letter attached with a neat milk carton tag. Scorpius himself looked helplessly around before Rose smiled gently and shot a neat charm at the birds leg.

"Oops," She murmured, covering her mouth as the owl hoped off angrily, "Must have overdone that one a bit."

Scorpius gulped, but gingerly picked the letter out of the table crumbs. It was a neat yellowed envelope, and he slipped a pale finger under the seal. Inside was a rather formal looking letter. Al read over his shoulder.

_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy;_

_I have discussed matters with your Head of Year, not that oaf of a Headmaster_

_the school has appointed. You are to stay in Ravenclaw. The least you can do is achieve_

_decent standard grades and try not to mingle with the riff-raff. Your mother is expecting _

_you home for Christmas, so do not make any other plans._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

A little note fell out as Scorpius unfurled the letter, and this read -

_Darling,_

_You know we all love you, it's just difficult for your father. I have a great faith in_

_you and everything you do. Remember, I was a Hufflepuff. The world does not end just_

_because of something so small an insignificant. As long as you remain caring and _

_loyal, I am sure you will do just as well as your father wishes._

_Lots of love,_

_Your mum_

Al looked up at Rose, who frowned, then stated bluntly, "Draco Malfoy married a Hufflepuff?"

Scorpius' brow knitted, then he replied stiffly, "My mother's sister was a Slytherin."

"But -" Rose started, but Al kicked her ankle under the great wooden table, and she silenced. Scorpius surveyed them with a curious look, then folded the note into his breast pocket neatly. There was a pregnant pause, the uncomfortable mood of the situation clear. Then Nick butted in, asking Al what his favourite Quidditch team was, and slowly they started up their chattering and bickering again.

- - -

The Dungeons were every bit as dank and dirty as the First Years had been told by others, and the Ravenclaws and Gryffindor's joined forces to try and navigate this labyrinth of stone passages. Eventually they reached their classroom, a mildew ridden place. Unsure of what to do, they milled about at the doorway for a while, making small talk with each other and exchanging comments on their own nerves.

Eventually someone appeared at the through a door in the classroom, then looked up and frowned at them. He was an immensely fat man, with a great protruding belly and only a wisp of white hair left upon his gleaming head. Somewhat like Father Christmas, but stranger, less jolly. He grunted, then settled into a seat at his desk, rubbing his chest as if in pain.

"Sit down, then," He grunted as the First Years milled around trying to find a seat. Al sat next to Rose, with Po and then Scorpius on his other side. A short blond girl sat on the end seat next to Rose nervously, one hand constantly biting her chipped fuchsia nails. Al looked over in curiosity, then poked Rose's ribs and whispered, "It's the Dursley girl!"

Rose rolled her eyes, then replied, "You're so subtle sometimes, Albus."

Al was about to reply when the fat man started to speak, and the class fell instantly silent, "Potion making is a great and useful art. While there are no incantations or wand waving, potion brewing requires though and skill. To do well in such a thing you must have a sharp mind and a decent memory."

A bunch of the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors groaned, but the man persevered, "I am Professor Slughorn, and I will be your Potions Master as long as my heart holds out. I if die before you reach N.E.W.T level, I'm sure they will find a suitable replacement.

There were a few sniggers, but no one really could deduce whoever this was actually a joke or not. Looking down at his desk, Al surveyed the damage left by countless students over the years. One such graffiti carvings read "J, S, R and P were here '77, throwing ink at Snivellus." Such a long sentence had been achieved, it appeared, by burning it into the wood, leaving a rather singed patch where Al was resting his paper. He frowned, but covered it over and started to write down what Professor Slughorn had written on the blackboard.

- - -

**Author's Notes - This chapter was very much copied and pasted over the past month, due to various RL difficulties. It's a wee bit fractured, but I'm pretty sure it's still readable! Next chapter will be as soon as possible, but imminent exams kind of pause any creative flow I might have once had. D:**


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